REVIEWA sentimental fog came over me as I closed UNIT PRIMES and I remembered one of my favorite literature classes when working on my bachelor’s degree over a decade ago. We read stacks of short stories and I recall enjoying that experience immensely. I found that short stories appealed to me in a way that novels did not. I especially loved the slice of life stories.

UNIT PRIMES is the comic industry’s equivalent to the short story.

In it, we have a story with little plot progression and small amounts of character development, but a solid and poignant story nonetheless. It is a science fiction slice of life story that is more intriguing the more I contemplate it.

A boy, L-Bee, is rescued from the remnants of a planet destroyed by the Unit Primes. The beings that take him are fighting the good fight against the seemingly unstoppable Primes and for 90 pages we live this boy’s upheaval, connection to other beings, and finally their separation. It is an experience that a child simply should not have to endure, but this one does. The experience is well done – and tear inspiring for the characters and the reader – with deep connections to this world and the life many children live.

ART REVIEWThe expressions, which come mostly from L-Bee as the alien life forms’ emotional characteristics are harder to differentiate, are what make the art connect emotionally with the text. L-Bee feels fear, confusion, love, and anger. He cries a lot, which is to be expected from a 12-year-old child who just lost his entire race to a planetary explosion. It is our compassion for L-Bee, expressed in the art, that creates the empathy and interest in the story.

UNIT PRIMES is a comic that would have benefited greatly from the use of color. A well-chosen color palette should have been used to create the setting and tone and reinforce the theme of the story. Color would have helped the reader relate to L-Bee and would have created differentiation between Alo and Yiralo, who for the most part are indistinguishable except for Yiralo’s larger lips.

AGE RECOMMENDATIONChris’ Rating: Middle school and older

The subject material is tough and is best for middle school and high school students. L-Bee’s life is tragic and gets no better at the end of the story. Other than a few cases of the word damn and its variations, there are no objectionable material.

IN THE CLASSROOMUNIT PRIMES is a study of human behavior in the face of tragedy and impeding doom. I think this slice of life story would be very useful in the classroom to help students study a small piece of life and dissect it. What makes the story interesting? Is there any real plot progression or character development? How does this story work? What makes it interesting? How do we connect with UNIT PRIMES? How does this story engage us differently than other works? I think it would be interesting to compare UNIT PRIMES with traditional short stories.

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About TGC

The Graphic Classroom is a resource for teachers and librarians to help them stock high quality, educational-worthy, graphic novels and comics in their classroom or school library. I read and review every graphic novel or comic on this blog and give it a rating as to appropriateness for the classroom.

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Would you like your comic or graphic novel reviewed here at THE GRAPHIC CLASSROOM? You can do so in two ways, one of which is guaranteed and the other is not:

1. Send me a copy of the comic or graphic novel. I will read it and review it as soon as possible. You can email me privately and I will give you my mailing address. abikerbard@mac.com

2. You can simply tell me about your creation.

If you send me a copy, then I will review your submission. I will be honest and fair and do my best to get your book reviewed in a timely manner. I am a full time graduate student, so my time is limited. If I receive a lot of books, then I will put them on a first-come, first-reviewed list and do the best I can.

If you cannot or will not send me a media copy of your book, then you can just request that I review it. My money is short, as I am going to school and not working, so you are depending on my ability to afford your book. There is no guarantee that I will get to your work nor any guarantee that I will even review it. If I can afford it and have time to read it, then I will most certainly review it. It's all about the teachers, librarians and kids.

Reviews are never based on free media copies. I am writing my Master's Thesis on the subject of comics in the classroom, so this is important to me. I am committed to this and I take reviews very seriously. I do not rip into books in order to get readership. I will have a critical eye, but I am also excited about helping teachers find great books for the classroom.

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About The Editor

My name is Chris Wilson. My first name is Jack, which is why you see it on the posts, but I usually go by my middle name: Chris. Having worked as the Managing Editor for a weekly newspaper then as the Director of a non-profit for people with disabilities, I have gone back to school. I am now a full time graduate student in the college of education at Missouri State University. I am getting my Masters of Science in Education – Elementary Education.

I know that reading is a problem for many students today. I feel strongly that comics and graphic novels can be one way that we can combat this problem. Graphics novels should be in every public school library and classroom library. That is why I am choosing to write my thesis on using comics and graphic novels in the elementary classroom.

Email Meabikerbard@mac.com

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Disclaimer

Some comic literature is not appropriate for every classroom, or every community. Some are not appropriate for any classroom. You need to review any piece of comic literature for yourself and determine if it is appropriate for your grade, class, curriculum, goals, school and community.